


Mess it up

by pillow forts (pyroooah)



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Tim and Cassandra are both Batman, batfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22765705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroooah/pseuds/pillow%20forts
Summary: Batman is an entity, not a person. When Bruce is declared dead, Tim and Cassandra decide to take on the mantle. Together. Gen.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 3
Kudos: 72





	Mess it up

When Cass dropped off the grid for nearly an hour, Tim felt hot panic because of the mere thought that she could be… _no_. She was too calculative for that. 

His ears rang with his heartbeat, and his fingers were numb over the keyboard. His mind went blank. He closed his eyes, and he took a deep gulp of air like he had forgotten what breathing was like.

One breath.

Two.

Three.

She’s going to be okay. She wasn’t going to end up… _No._

“Master Tim,” Alfred called out to him. “What do we do?” 

“She’s going to be okay,” he said. Let’s think this through now, Tim. You should know that no one could take on Cass easily and win. “We’ll operate as planned.” 

Every single CCTV camera filtered through his feed, and Alfred pointed out one of them.

“That one looks like Miss Cassandra.” There was a figure in a black cape, and a dark black costume. She raised up her cape to cover her mouth. 

She was looking over her shoulder at someone. This was seconds before green smoke filled the area, and the CCTV camera were obscured from her next few actions. It had been an hour, and all her visible trackers were probably being disabled right now. Visible being the operative word. 

“Master Tim?” 

“Alfred,” he said. He picked up the cowl which was hanging off his chair. “Time to move. Can you take care of the computer?” 

* * *

When she woke up, Cass was hanging over a vat of green bubbling liquid. She opened her eyes slowly to see a man with a pale face, green hair, grotesque lips, and his face was disfigured. His eyes. His eyes were peering at her in that dark, disused warehouse. She was hanging by the ankle from the beam holding the ceiling. Blood rushed to her head, and her cowl was still intact. 

He seemed to find something quite funny. 

Her first priority was to get out of these binds, she thought. 

“Do you know why I brought you here, Batman?” he asked between giggles. “Or should I say, new Batman?” 

She had three options. 

Option One: She could hear him out. 

The Joker didn’t care so much about eliminating his opponents. He liked to torture them or play games with them. One year as a brainwashed member of the League of Assassins had taught Cass enough about torture. 

“You see,” he grated on. “Once upon a long time ago, there was a man wearing a red-hood who had to pay the bills and help his new family. You see, once upon a long time ago, he was being chased by _Batman._ He chased me down this place, and I ended up in one of these chemical vats. It’s a bit of a throwback, actually…” 

Cassandra hadn’t expected to win against the Joker in a psychological battle. He didn’t have any martial arts training. He behaved erratically for her to read his body movements. But she did know _how_ to eventually win the battle. This was a battle of mental fortitude, and rigour. 

“... and that’s how it all _started!”_

“What do you want with me?” she asked.

She knew what he wanted. He wanted to see her crack. He wanted to see fear in her eyes. 

“I heard that the big Bat was no more. Then I heard that the Big Bat had, in fact, been scurrying around Gotham. I just _had_ to make sure. I hadn’t recalled Batman being a woman however.” 

“And?” 

“It makes me slightly curious. Are you as good as he was? Are you _going to_ be better?” 

“Where are the girls?” Cassandra asked him.

“Oh those school girls?” he asked. “Why! You should have asked sooner! Thing is,” he said. “It was all a ruse to lure you in. But pity. It’s such a waste. He was always so clever. He would have been able to save them.” 

It was a bait for her. 

Joker held out a trigger button in front of her. “You won’t.” He began to laugh hysterically, and she stared down at him. “Now. How can we make this a bit more fun? Why don’t we—” 

He paused when he heard glass shattering.

“What?” 

There were gunshots in the dark. Cassandra heard his footsteps before she saw him. She knew those footsteps. Joker’s eyes widened. There was another shot. Joker scurried off the hook, and he fell back against the floor. He released the trigger of the chains, and she was sent plummeting down. She heard another creak of the lever, and her descent was stopped. 

Cassandra sighed to herself, and she flipped up in mid-air, and she wrapped her legs around the chain to free herself amidst the cacophony of the Red Hood’s boots, guns, weapons and his voice. 

* * *

“Thank you,” the school girls told him. “Batman.” 

Chief Gordon nodded at them, and the Joker, who had a couple of gunshot wounds, was being treated. He was wrapped in chains and cloth. He was spewing profanities at the officers when he caught sight of Tim.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Wasn’t there another one?” he asked out loud. 

Chief Gordon averted his eyes from Tim. 

The police cars drove the girls away, and Tim looked up at the roof of the old warehouse building where Cassandra and Jason were. He shot his hook to the roof of the warehouse, and he pulled himself up to them. He stared between Cassandra, who had her arms folded, and then at Jason. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other.

Or for that matter, Cassandra hadn’t. 

“Thankfully, I was able to save the girls in time,” Tim told Cassandra.

“You both make me sound like some kind of intruder of sorts,” Jason said. “I feel appreciated. You’re welcome by the way.” He said to Cass.

She folded her arms. “I had a plan.”

“Cass handled it,” Tim replied. “She knew what she was doing. She’s faced him before, and she’s managed to take care of him. I trusted her.” 

“Yeah, when she had her hands unbound, I bet,” Jason replied. Cass bristled with annoyance. She turned away from them with a sigh. “So what’s the deal?” Jason asked. “Why are you two masquerading as Batman?” 

Cassandra jerked her head sharply at Tim.

“Let’s go,” she said.

“Shouldn’t you be _batwoman?”_

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“We’re just doing what Bruce would have wanted us to do,” he said. “It was Alfred’s idea. He tailored our costumes after crime rates in Gotham had risen. Gotham always needs to have a bat.” 

“Right,” Jason said. “That’s why the signal goes off every night?” 

They both glanced at Cassandra leaving. “Where are you going?” Tim asked her.

“Patrol,” she replied shortly.

“Cass, you might be—” She stepped off the roof and she was gone. “—injured.” 

“What’s her deal?” Jason asked him. “I mean. That’s her normally, isn’t it? No time to talk. Got to save Gotham from another baddie.” 

“Yes, well…” Tim said. He was worried about her. But Cass always tended to patrol more in the aftermath. Sometimes, she didn’t come back home for days. Sometimes, she was bleeding over her sheets. But Cass, he thought, was at least—with all the grief—carrying herself forward to continue the legacy. 

Him too, he thought. He raked his hand through his hair. He’d always thought that Bruce’s boots were too big to fill. 

“How’s Dick?” Jason asked him. 

“It’s been a rough couple of days with Dick and Damian,” Tim replied. “Dick doesn’t approve. Like he’s been Batman before, but he can’t get over the fact that Bruce might be done. Gone.” 

“He _may_ have a lead,” Jason said. “And Damian? Let me guess, the little brat refused to be your robins.” 

“It’s not like we need one,” Tim said. “We’re a collective. An entity. She and I. We function as a unit. I investigate and work covertly. She attacks the frontline. It was an idea…” he trailed off. “We don’t want to replace Bruce, and I know it’s hard for Damian, but it has to be done.” 

“Right.” 

“Maybe he’ll come around eventually, you know? He’d deck up in his robin suit, and he’d arguing over who drives the bat-mobile. Cass and I decided to give him time.” 

“Yeah, maybe. I prefer him being a little arrogant shit to that...” 

“Yeah. He’s not okay,” Tim said. “I have to go find Cass. You should come home sometime.” 

“Home?” Jason laughed. “You think I should come _home?”_

Tim watched him, as he ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t think I want to. I don’t think… it’s home anymore for me. Thanks for the offer though.” 

And Jason left—he just slunk off away, and Tim wondered how Jason was doing lately, and Tim thought of Barbara and Stephanie—who hadn’t contacted him since the funeral. 

And Tim glanced at the skyline of Gotham.

Gotham always needed a Bat. Bruce or not. 

**Author's Note:**

> A short thought experiment of Tim and Cassandra together as Batman, and also how insecure they would be to fill Bruce's boots got me rolling with this idea. Also dealing with the grief, or also letting the world and Gotham that the Bat symbol never dies.
> 
> I really want to continue this, but I think I might need to hash out a good plot for it.


End file.
